I remember following your familys story when it happened. There were days when all I could do was stare at your beautiful son. He has touched me so deeply, and I never even met him. I still think of him often.... Please be assured of our prayers for you and your family on that day.

My parish choir sang a short concert before Mass this morning, and as we prepared to sing our final song, our choir director asked the audience to remember those who had died in the last year, and to pray for them and their families as we sang.

I thought of your family, and of your Joshua. The piece we sang was "When David Heard that Absalom Was Slain," written in 1622 by Thomas Tomkins. The music is very sad, very dissonant, sounding like sobbing and sighing, but the final chord is calm and serene, as though King David has finally come to terms with his grief over the death of his son.

I pray that you and your family have found or will find a similar peace.

I remember him, too. It seems so much longer than a year ago, and though I never met any of you, your loss touched me deeply. I saw how it could have happened to any of us, and I remember it often as I hug my little boys. Children are a great blessing, and we are but their stewards.

Purpose

How can you be an artist when you're a busy mom or dad who doesn't have much time to write novels or paint pictures or compose sonatas? This is the dilemma for the beauty-lover who wants to help build a culture of life but just doesn't have time.

What can be done is to try to make our homes our art, for our families.

Please don't imagine that perfection lies outside the margins of these photographs. When I share images and thoughts, it's not to erect an ideal standard, but to share what inspires me.

Since I post so very "occasionally" these days, I invite you to keep up with House Art Journal by becoming a follower or subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog below. Thank you for continuing to read my journal!